Of Trials And Tributes
by ChloeRhiannonX
Summary: Paylor is elected as President. She embraces her new role, but what she didn't bank on was the people from all 13 districts still power hungry for their Captiol Games. Needing mentors for the job, Peeta volunteers. No one wants him to do it, but he is determined to prove everyone wrong. But, firsts things first; he needs to deal with Katniss.
1. The Right Direction

**Of Trials and Tributes **

**Chapter One**

**The Right Direction**

The smell was overpowering, the hygiene of the place was sickening. I stared up at the white ceiling, counting the tiles as my hand was unbandaged. Four days later and it was still bleeding. I guess it didn't help that I mindlessly unbandaged it sometimes and picked at the wound. I didn't mean to do it; it was just something that happened when I thought of her. And I thought of her often.

Katniss has taken a large chunk from my hand, but it was worth it. I knew what she was going to do before anyone else did, before even Katniss herself did. I was across the balcony faster than any land animal could travel, my hand clamped tightly over her pocket.

"Let me go!" She had snarled, but I refused to move my hand. I hadn't spent all this time fighting for the girl I loved just to let her swallow a purple pill and end it all.

"I can't." I told her, but I wasn't sure if she heard me as the guards came and dragged her away. I ripped the pocket and the pill fell to the floor. It was trampled, now forever apart of the carpet. The commotion around was loud and noisy, the old man who was wheezing and coughing, choking on his own blood, but using his last breath to cackle. The shouting and whispers of the Capitol audience. Katniss was yelling for Gale, and I knew that this was it.

It was nothing less than a riot as Peacekeepers started pushing the audience out the door and collected both Coin and Snow's bodies. I found myself backing into a wall, slipping into a forgotten door and falling to the floor in pieces. I just laid there, letting the blood pour from the fresh teeth marks she had left on me. I tried to block all of the outside away, but it was no use. It got to me, it made me snap. All of the screaming was too familiar and my mind was sent back to a time where everything goes shiny and the edges are blurred.

I tried not to think about it as the doctor wrapped a new gauze around the wound and the rest of my hand. It was a different doctor doing it every time I went in to have it changed. I assumed they were too busy with the serious injuries to care too much about what doctor was tending to me. Though, I know that a lot of doctors were too full of fear to attend to me. It was a well-known fact that I couldn't always be trusted to control my actions. And when something such as the pain of the wound stung, I could have easily killed the closest person in sight. That was one reason why I was usually left to be rebandaged in President Snow's own private clinic which was really just a doctor's office in one of the many rooms in his mansion.

The rebellion had left everyone so distraught and delusional. No one had seen it coming, except maybe those partaking. But even then, those from 13 who had made it to the Capitol were still confused as to what to do now. I hadn't actually been out of what used to be President Snow's mansion since...My head started to throb as I tried to remember how long it had been.

I'd talked to Haymitch, who had turned his guest room into his own house; there were no words to describe the filth that came with a stench that could knock you out cold. The drunk didn't have a lot to say. Unlike Effie who never could keep quiet about the turmoil we were in. The four of us were supposed to be a team, working together. Effie was quite annoyed that Katniss had had a plan of her own. Shooting Coin, what was she thinking?

But that was the point; no one knew. Katniss was locked away somewhere, no one knew where it was exactly. I'd tried to catch Paylor and ask, wanting to talk with her desperately, but she was always busy with one thing or another. Four days she had been president, four days and she already had greying hair and sagging eyes. I did vote for her in the emergency election. It was mostly just the remaining victors with a few other guests such as Effie Trinket and Plutarch Heavansbee. Paylor won the majority, much to Plutarch's annoyance.

After my trip for a new gauze, I found myself pacing the corridors again. I'd found comfort in not staying still for long. Aside from my daily meetings with Dr. Aurelius, I had nothing to occupy my time. No one to talk to, no one who wanted to talk to me. Pacing helped think of other things. Not of her. Not of what had gone on. The only bad thing about pacing around the mansion was the mirrors. Almost every corner you turned you would find a mirror, a reflective surface of some kind. It brought myself into attention and it could easily have brought on a flashback. I tried not to look back at the monster staring at me, but sometimes it was hard. My eyes moved by themselves and all I could see was the destroyed man staring back. He had dirty blonde hair and a patchwork of skin. His eyes were tired, strained and bloodshot. He wasn't the same sixteen year old boy who got himself tangled in this mess he now called life. It had been two years and all he wished for was the chance for things to go back to normal, back to the way they had been before his name had been reaped. Before she had volunteered.

Dr. Aurelius would be wondering where I'd gotten to, and I think he would be impressed with how much I had been thinking of the past over the last couple of hours. It wasn't a subject I was fond of; it was a terrifying monster that sank deep in my memories. It sometimes brought on the attacks, which was not something I cared to induce. I was on plenty of medication for it, but as no one else in history had been successfully hijacked, it was unknown whether any of the pills were doing me any good. Better safe than sorry, that's what every doctor who examined me had said. They were right, of course. It was better to try and drain me of the Tracker Jacker venom than to have me walking around without any control over my actions.

I walked over to the Capitol hospital from the President's Mansion. It wasn't too far away; easy enough to get some fresh air and have people pass me strange looks as I wondered down the broken and repaired streets.

The hospital was a massive building, like nothing that had ever been seen in 12 before. It put our Justice Building, the fanciest place I could think of, to shame. We'd only had the apothecary and Mrs. Everdeen back home when we were feeling sick.

As I entered through the main doors, a few nurses smile politely. The people who worked at the hospital were used to seeing me. They were there to help me, one of the many people they saw on a regular basis, get better. But I wasn't there to pick up any more meds or have any more tests done. The office I needed was nearer to the top floor, and I was grateful for the elevator in the back of the building that took me straight to my destination. Walking the stairs with my prosthetic was a nightmare. And the last thing I needed was to have nightmares while I was still awake, they were bad enough at night.

"Peeta, I didn't expect to see you today." Dr. Aurelius looked genuinely confused about my appearance in his office. I visited daily, he should have expected me. There hadn't been a change to the schedule. I guess he could see I was confused and answered my unasked question. "Katniss' trial starts today. Are you not attending?"

Katniss' trial? No one had told me about it. I had no idea she was even having a trial. I assumed they were just discussing what to do with her, not actually holding a trial. Sure, she had assassinated the President, but after everything she-we'd been through, I didn't find it to be a big deal. Katniss had every right to do what she had done, in my opinion. But, obviously, no one else had the same opinion as I did.

"It starts in half hour, in the main Court House." I knew where the main Court House was and I found my feet were already dragging me in the right direction. I would have to be there for her this time. I wasn't going to miss this.

A/N: Hello, my name is Chloe and I will be your author for this fanfiction.

...Sorry, I have just ALWAYS wanted to start an authors note like that xD haha!

But yeah, I'm Chloe and this is my 3rd venture into the world of Hunger Games Faniction writing. This is my first multi chapter HG story, so do go easy on me, I'm new to the prospect.

I started writing this two months ago and I struggled for a while...But while sitting bored outta my mind in Soccer Sports, waiting for my brother to buy his new school shoes, I completed it. I was so happy, must be said :P

I hope you enjoy reaidng this story as much as I enjoy writing it :D

Thanks for reading, please review (:

Love, DysfunctionalFamilyMember (Chloe for short)


	2. Hope

**Of Trials And Tributes**

**Chapter Two**

**Hope**

The Court House was a large building which stood out in the middle of the Capitol. It was the plainest building that I had seen. It was a simple white building with a wooden interior decor. It was closer to Snow's mansion than the hospital was, but with my mind racing with a million thoughts so it seemed to take twice as long to get there.

I entered the front door and saw Haymitch and Gale huddled, talking in hushed voices. They didn't notice me right away, but they both turned in my direction. It was clear neither had expected my presence, more than likely thinking this could cause me to have an episode. There's going to be things given as evidence today that none of us were going to enjoy. But it had to be done, and I was going to be there to support Katniss through it all.

"What you doing here, boy?" Haymitch demanded. I could smell the liquor on him before I'd even got close, but he had sobered up a great deal since the last time I'd seen him.

Gale eyed my suspiciously, but I knew I had every right to be there. I limped closer to the two, ignoring Haymitch's question. It was clear to me that no one had wanted me to show up, which was why neither had informed of the trial in the first place.

"You shouldn't be here!" Haymitch hissed, grabbing me by one shoulder. "Do you not think of the people around you, boy?" His words were harsh and I could tell that he thought I was going to have a flashback over the next few hours. But I wasn't paying much attention to him. My eyes were scanning the room, trying to scope out what they came to find.

"She's not here." Gale's gruff voice came. Upon closer inspection it seemed he hadn't slept in days. That made two of us. I didn't hold a grudge for the tattered Seam boy in front of me; he had his own problems and worries. But, for once, we had both shown up for the same purpose; to keep Katniss alive.

"Where is she?" I demanded, starting to grow agitated by the fact she wasn't going to attend her own trial. I could see what Haymitch meant and started to calm myself down. It was a technique Dr. Aurelius and I had worked out a few days prior:

Every time I felt myself getting angry, getting worked up over the small things, I would imagine I was kneading dough. It was how I had kept my anger to a minimum growing up at home, and Dr. Aurelius thought it was a good stress reliever for me.

"Your guess is as good as ours, kid." The old drunk replied, but his voice hinted towards worry. It was obvious we all cared for her and we were all hoping nothing bad came her way again. But there was this niggling feeling, a jar of anxiety I had tried to keep locked away, but the more I thought about our current situation, the more I realized it could be true.

What if Katniss was already dead?

It made perfect sense. They've already killed her off, which was why no one had seen her. This trial was just for show. They were always going to come back to the same conclusion; execution.

But wouldn't they want a public execution for the Mockingjay?

The more I thought of the endless possibilities, the more I found myself wringing my hands together in worry and anticipation. I wanted to get into that Court room and hear everyone else's side of the story. I knew mine; Gale and Haymitch had their own I suspected. None of us conversed what we thought, but we were about to find out.

Plutarch showed up last minute and, with a cheery grin on his face, escorted us towards the right room. He kept talking about pulling strings for us, but I was too bust wondering where Katniss was to pay too much attention.

The Cour room was cozy compared to the vastness of the rest of the building. There were chairs in two columns either side of the walkway and a wooden block in place between the viewers and the rest of the room. Not many people were around, a few people I didn't recognize up front and Johanna Mason and Effie off to the side.

Johanna glanced my way when I caught her eye, and I knew from the look that she wished she had her axe on hand. Effie was sat in the row in front of her, slightly posed to the side and blabbering on about things that only Effie could blabber on about. Johanna was not looking happy about the one track mind Effie had.

My old escort was dressed in a white wig today, topped with a feathery contraption and sporting a black pinstriped smart suit. In honesty, it was the 'formalist' thing I had ever seen Effie in.

Haymitch grabbed ahold of my wrist and dragged me to sit beside him. He didn't want me out if his sight, that was clear to everyone in the room.

I took another glance around the room and found more men had appeared up front. They were all on their feet and facing forward. Another man entered through a side door, but I couldn't see him through the throng of smartly dressed men blocking my view. He mumbled something and Effie and Plutarch got to their feet as well. The four of us left sitting stared at each other, not quite knowing what to do.

'What's going on?' Johanna mouthed at me and all I could do in reply was shrug my shoulders. It must have been some Capitol thing because the four of us left seated were from the Districts.

Another man entered the room and instructed everyone to be seated. Once the throng of men had cleared I could see he had sat right at the very front on a higher up table, facing the room. He was an older man, much older than everyone else in the room. He obviously held some sort of authority over all of us.

"That's Judge Winters," Plutarch whispered into my ear from behind. "He's one of the best." But I didn't see how he was. Every day I showed up in that Court room. Every day I waited for any news that Katniss was in good hands. Every day I prayed would be the last. It never was. The trial seemed endless to me. Haymitch and Gale showed up every day with me, sometimes Johanna would join us. Effie and Plutarch only showed up when they weren't 'busy' helping Paylor reorganize the Capitol.

I listened to the men drone on and on about the mess Katniss had created. Apparently everything was her fault, not Snow or Coin's. I wanted to shout and scream, but I held my tongue fir so many days. It didn't cause any flashbacks like I expected. My mind was too focused in helping Katniss rather than wanting her dead. I tried to keep my mind focused on the positives; they were discussing Katniss as if she was still alive. It brought hope to my heart.

"Your honor, Miss Everdeen needs to be executed. She has caused a ruckus amongst the Capitol. Her intention to destroy us all was very clear from the start and we can't let her run loose-"

"BULLSHIT!" The word had escaped my mouth before I could process what was going on. The part if my brain I didn't allow myself access to had started to take over and I was soon on my feet, hands gripping thr back of the seat in front of me.

All eyes were on me now and I knew I had to follow this through. Trust me to pick a day when the room was at its fullest.

"Katniss hates the Capitol, yes. But I can vouch and say that everyone from District 12 and beyond hates it too." The words rolled from my mouth as if the speech was rehearsed. "She doesn't want to destroy you all, she just wanted Snow dead, and she got it."

"She assassinated the President!" One of the men up front called out.

"Let me take you back to the first time any of you met Katniss Everdeen. It was at the Reaping two years ago when her little sister Primrose was chosen. She volunteered to take her place because she wanted no harm to come to her little sister." I wasn't sure who I was directing my speech to, but I kept talking anyway. All ears were listening and I had to get my message out. "Now ask yourself 'where Primrose Everdeen is now?' I'll tell you; dead. Blown to pieces in a double bomb explosion that Coin set off. She knew that Prim was going to be there and she purposely set off those bombs so Katniss would think Snow set them off. But not everything goes according to plan because Katniss knew it was Coin and she went for her instead of Snow." I wasn't sure where any of that information had come from or whether it was true or not, but it felt good to get something off my chest for once. I just prayed what I had just done helped Katniss rather than...I didn't want to think about it.

A/N: Wow...

This scene has been playing in my mind for weeks now.

Glad I finally got it out :D

I have about half of the next chapter planned in my mind...But that's about it. After that, we're winging it xD And ya'll will have to bear with me because it's been about a year since I stopped winging my stories, I may be a little rusty with it ;)

Thank you to;

Pinkbookworm7: I'm glad you enjoyed it :) Thank you :D

candykisses101: I'm glad you like it :) Thanks :D

Wow...Two whole reviews?

I am truly blessed! I wasn't even expecting one! haha!

Thanks for reading, please review (:

Love, DFM.


	3. Treatment

**Of Trials and Tributes**

**Chapter 3**

**Treatment**

Dr. Aurelius was waiting for me outside. I had wanted to stay until the trial had finished to talk to Haymitch about what had gone on, but the guards told me to leave. I was making a scene or something like that; I wasn't paying a lot of attention to anyone around me. Katniss was the only person on my mind.

"Peeta." Dr. Aurelius greeted me with a smile. I wasn't sure exactly what he had to smile about, but I refused to smile back. "I have some good news for you." The only good news I needed was to know if Katniss was safe, and I doubted the therapist in front of me knew that or not. "We think we've found a way to get rid of the Tracker Jacket venom." We meant the team of experts that were working on it round the clock. They weren't getting paid for it; they were doing it because they saw me as a 'challenge' which was slightly unnerving.

"Great." I mumbled, climbing into Dr. Aurelius' car. He jumped in the other side and started driving. I had only been in a car a few times in my life. After the reaping was the first time, we didn't have cars in 12. Since then it was a handful of times being in Dr. Aurelius' car as he drove me to the off-site medical facility the research team were working in.

I found myself kneading my hands around an imaginary lump of dough as we drove in almost silence. There was a quiet hum of chatter coming from the radio, but I don't think either of us wanted to hear how Leona Escott's wig collection had been mostly stolen and burnt during the past week.

"I see that technique's working." I slowly nodded, not feeling up to talking. I was still worked up from the trial. My mind was focused on my words and what damage I may have caused to Katniss with my outburst. But that man had pushed me over the edge. He truly believed that Katniss was a threat. I could see where he was coming from, but it wasn't true. Katniss did what she did to avenge her sister-sweet and innocent Prim who had been a real victim of the war. Targeted by Coin just so she could gain Katniss' trust. It was awful. Someone so young, so innocent. They didn't deserve to die.

"Peeta?" I stared up and found we were parked outside the off-site medical facility. Dr. Aurelius opened up the door and I stepped out onto the broken road. Many bombs had gone off in this area of the Capitol. It was definitely noticeable with all the holes in the earth. The cleanup team clearly hadn't made it this far yet, and probably wouldn't for at least another week or two. Of course, the Capitol didn't have anything on District 12. Dr. Aurelius had shown me the promo Plutarch had ordered with Katniss in the wreckage. It was after the first 'cure' we had tried for the venom. I hadn't lost my temper at the site of Katniss the first time, but ten minutes later I was seeing her everywhere I looked. A mutt. A no good dirt mutt is what she was.

I start wringing my hands together as Dr. Aurelius lead me down the corridors. I had been there a few times since I had been taken under the medical care of Dr. Aurelius. The doctor had been moved out of 13 and into the Capitol to specially help me and to bear medical evidence for Katniss. He called her a 'hopeless, shell-shocked lunatic' in hopes of helping her. It was never brought up again after that.

I couldn't get Katniss out of my head as the doctors prodded needles into my arms. She was supposedly faced with execution at 13 if found guilty. At least, that is what everyone around me was saying.

It didn't work. The treatment, that is. My body was filled with an anti-venom to try and kill it out from my bloodstream. After drawing my blood and testing it, it showed that the venom had attacked the anti-venom. I watched it happen on the screen in front of me. That was what was happening to my insides as I sat there. This was happening every moment that I remained alive. It wasn't right, but it was true.

* * *

Home was this faraway place. It was a train ride away from where I was currently being kept. I hadn't been there in months, but I wanted to go back. I wanted to go back and curl up in my own bed and sleep. Sleep it all away. That was never going to happen, though. I was never going to be able to sleep again. There were too many plaguing nightmares that haunted my memories during the day and even more so at night. The darkness that overtook my body and mind had been a good enough reason to start leaving my lamp on before bed.

Sometimes I get transported back. I can remember exactly how it was before the games had claimed me as their own. I woke up at four every morning and was baking with father by five. The bakery opened at six and one of my brothers would come in. They took turns over who would join me before school. Mother would stay upstairs until midday, but I would be long gone before she woke up during the weekdays. It was only Saturdays and after school I would have to deal with her abusive words and, more often than not, her abusive hands, too.

Sometimes it angered me to think she was ever that way with me. The venom in my body would get overworked and my mind would want me to start throwing my fists. I had to keep telling myself that she loved me all the same. It was hard at first, but I soon found that lying to myself was a cure for my bad temper. I could easily kid my mind into believing what I wanted, usually because I begged for it to be true.

I had discussed this many times with Dr. Aurelius. He claimed that if I believed the things I wanted to then I would end up losing sight of reality. He tried to help me come up with other ways of coping, but none were as efficient.

Today I decided I would ask him the question I knew we were both skirting around. I waited outside his temporary office (he was given it bu a head doctor as an honorary gift for his stay in the Capitol) in a small, plastic chair. The question was on loop in my mind. It had to be asked sooner or later. I was choosing sooner in hope that it would also be the answer.

"Peeta." Dr. Aurelius practically beamed. I followed him into his office and sat down in a more comfortable seat. "I'm sorry the round of treatment hadn't worked. I really thought the team had got it this time." I shrugged it off as no big deal. Nothing had worked before, but the team kept trying anyway. "What is it that you would like to discuss today?" It was always up to me what I wanted to talk about. Whatever was on my mind I could come out and say it.

"I need to ask you something." I replied and Dr. Aurelius nodded his head in assurance. He always tried his best to answer my questions. However, my questions were usually things I was confused over. Real or not real, that game that Katniss had helped me with, had proved to be a good way of getting things straight in my head. There were still shiny memories. I wasn't positive I knew what exactly happened in the 74th Hunger Games or the Quarter Quell. Dr. Aurelius tried his best, but there really was only one person out there who knew all the answers.

"When am I going back to 12?"

A/N: ….I need a therapist.

Seriously, that was all I got from writing this chapter XD

ANYWAY! I am going away on Sunday, so I'll try and get a new chapter up before I leave, but if you don't hear from me for a little while, ya'll know where I am! Disneyland Paris :P YES!

Thank you to;

Pinkbookworm7: haha! Go Peeta! Thank you :D

candykisses101: Totally agreed, someone needed to stand up to them and I'm super happy it was Peeta :D Thanks :D

kutiekat44: Aww, thank you :D

A Blazing Mockingjay: I am very glad that you are enjoying this (: Well-planned? That's a new one…I'll totally admit that it isn't, but I'm quite glad it comes across that way! I get what you mean, I've read plenty of those kinds of stories….haha! That's okay, I may not have the most formal way of coming at things, but I do appreciate a well-constructed review :D Thanks :D

I love you guys ^^

Thanks for reading, please review (:

Love, DFM. (Less than 2 weeks and I can change my name, YES!)


	4. AN

Hey guys, it's Chloe. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but I am now going to be continuining this story.

I really love the plot to it, don't get me wrong. I still love it. But it's not the right plot for me to be writing. Get what I mean? Probably not...Explanations are not my strong point.

So, instead, I'm taking my hand at writng a Hunger Games AU story instead. It's called Fireflies and I will be posting the prologue later today :D So, please check that out if you want to.

And if anyone wants to continue this story for me, I won't stop you. Like I said, I love it, I would read it if someone wrote it, but it's not for me to write.

So, thank you for sticking with me for this much, I highly appreciate it. Thank you to everyone who read and to everyone who revewed. This was my first multi-chapter Hunger Games story and it meant a lot to have support in it.

Love, Miss. C. Rhiannon X


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